


The Cabins - Beavers Burrow

by Tahnex



Series: The Cabins [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Faunus (RWBY), Alternate Universe - No Powers, DATING SHOW AU, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:46:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28977627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tahnex/pseuds/Tahnex
Summary: The Cabins. Two people agree to a blind date on a reality show where they spend 24 hours alone in a cabin.
Relationships: Ilia Amitola/Weiss Schnee
Series: The Cabins [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2125494
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	The Cabins - Beavers Burrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bit of explanation for everyone reading this who is outside the UK or doesn’t watch much TV. There’s a new reality TV/dating show that just finished in the UK called ‘The Cabins’ where two single people are in a luxury cabin for 24 hours in the hopes of finding love. At the end of it they can choose to leave or stay another night (repeat up to another three times before leaving as a couple). First night they do only spend the late afternoon, evening, night and early morning before deciding, but after that it is a full 24 hours.
> 
> There will also be some short text conversations included, as part of the show is the two people messaging/phoning/video calling their friends or family at various points to let them know how it’s going and what they think of the other person.

Ilia pushed the door open and walked into the cabin, eyes going wide at the wooden expanse in front of her. She wheeled her suitcase over to a corner between the closet and the table, then walked over to the counter and placed her bottle of wine down, the silence letting her know that nobody else was there yet. Leaning against the counter, she looked around, taking the whole of the downstairs in.

The inside walls were made up of what appeared to be logs, whether they were real or not she couldn’t tell at a distance, but they definitely seemed realistic. The bottom floor was open plan, a table and chairs to one side beneath the staircase that curved back on itself. There was a log burning heater in between the kitchen and living room area, the steel chimney reaching to the ceiling and going through it, most likely headed all the way to the roof. What seemed to be the living room area had two sofas, an armchair, and a grey ottoman that apparently - according to the letter resting on the kitchen counter - had a fold out bed in. The kitchen itself was also very nice, black granite counters, white wooden cupboards with shiny silver handles, and perfect stainless-steel appliances.

Ilia was suitably impressed. The cabin was gorgeous, tastefully decorated with some abstract artwork and patterned rugs, colourful furnishings that weren’t too garish. Lots of windows provided natural light and had views out over the surrounding countryside, green fields with a river running nearby and a small wood on the other side of it. She wanted to wait for the other person to arrive before heading upstairs to scope it out though, just in case she missed their arrival. 

Whilst waiting, she zoned out slightly, running through what she hoped versus what she expected. She was hoping for someone with a sense of humour that matched hers and her friends, who cared about her own friends and family, and wasn’t afraid of baggage. What she expected however, was someone with a bit of a loudmouth, caked from head to toe in more makeup than someone on a stage, long false nails and an even falser personality.

As it was, she didn’t need to wait long. The sound of the door opening took her out of her reverie and she looked towards it, pushing herself to start walking towards the doorway, only to stop in her tracks when she recognised the person walking through it, her high heels clicking on the laminate floor. The woman’s hair was pulled into a braid, shining platinum white in the afternoon sun, and despite how unnatural or dyed the hair colour looked, Ilia knew it was natural. The coat was a white peacoat, and covered her to midway down her thigh, a light blue dress poking out the bottom, and the heeled boots reached to just below her knee. Her face was quite pale, although the eyes were a striking blue and stood out from the surrounding skin. Surprisingly to Ilia, the woman hadn’t chosen to blush over or cover up the scar that ran from the edge of her left eyebrow to halfway down her cheek.

“Hello, I’m…” The white-haired woman held her hand out as she spoke, but Ilia cut her off.

“Weiss Schnee. Heiress to the Schnee Corporation.” Ilia’s voice was hard, and Weiss rolled her eyes before pulling the door shut behind her.

“If we’re going to start like this, then at least let me have a drink first.” Weiss left her suitcases next to the door she had closed behind her and walked around Ilia to the counter, saying “And I’m not the heir,” as she passed her. Weiss picked up the bottle of wine Ilia had left, turning it in her hands to look it over, before muttering to herself, but loud enough for Ilia to hear, “Huh, Chardonnay from the Napa Valley. Good choice.” She opened a couple of drawers and found a corkscrew and opened the bottle, pouring some into one of the glasses left on the counter. She turned towards Ilia, “Do you want me to pour you a glass?”

Ilia continued to glare but shrugged slightly. She was choosing to ignore the quick flash of happiness that her choice in wine had been correct.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Weiss poured another glass and handed it to Ilia, then walked around and sat down on one of the sofas, crossing one leg over the other. “Do you want to get it all out? Although I will say that firstly, I’m not the heir, that’s my brother. Nor am I the CEO, that’s my mother.”

“But you used to be the heiress, and things certainly weren’t improved upon during your time as heiress. In fact, things worsened!” Ilia had sat down on the sofa opposite Weiss and was still glaring at her.

“Things worsened due to policies enacted or enhanced under my father’s direct instructions, none of which I was able to argue against, or even do anything about. Despite what the media and various rights groups would have you think, I haven’t ever had any amount of control over what goes on in the Schnee Corporation.” Weiss took a long drink from her wine and stared at Ilia right back, meeting her glare square on and not flinching. “I co-operated fully with the investigation into the board and my father, and was actually the one that called them in. Since my mother took back control of her heritage, I don’t think anyone could argue that Schnee Corp isn’t trying to undo pretty much everything my father did to wrong both us and the world in general.”

“Not fast enough.” Ilia couldn’t stop herself from sniping but did notice that Weiss had said her father wronged her too.

“There’s only so fast they can move. They have to systematically go through every part of the business to remove all aspects of my father’s influence, as well as root out those that still practice and believe his way is best. It will take time, and it’s better to take the time to do it properly than half-ass it with a surface response merely to look good, whilst changing nothing structurally.” Weiss took a smaller sip this time, waiting for Ilia’s response.

Ilia took a moment before replying, she’d heard the rumours that there was a massive restructuring at the Schnee Corporation, from top to bottom, but hadn’t fully believed it. And she did agree with Weiss’ point that it was better to do it properly even if it took longer. She smirked, an idea sprinting into her head, “So is that why you’re here then? To help get a positive media response for the family?”

Whatever Ilia had been expecting, Weiss bursting into laughter certainly wasn’t it. The laugh was clear and loud, almost like the peal of a bell. Ilia felt herself flush as the blood spread to her cheeks. Weiss wiped a small tear from the corner of her eyes and smiled at Ilia, something that made sure the blush stayed on her cheeks, no matter how much Ilia wished it didn’t. “I’m sorry for laughing, but it’s definitely not why I came on the show.” Weiss’ was smiling at Ilia.

“Why did you then? It’s hard to believe that Weiss Schnee struggles to find a date.” Ilia’s voice had a little less venom in it this time as she couldn’t hold back the curiosity.

Weiss rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face was warm and Ilia could see that the eye roll was out of fondness rather than annoyance. “My...I’m never going to live down calling her this on national television...best friend created an email account and then applied for me. She only told me when I was accepted, and it was too late to back out.”

Ilia couldn’t stop herself from laughing, as annoyed as she was at who Weiss Schnee was and represented, the thought that someone had forced her to go on a dating show was pretty funny. 

“See? It’s ridiculous! I swear I’m going to kill her when I get out of here.” Weiss pouted a little and crossed her arms, the drink forgotten on the table. “What about you then? Actually, what’s your name? You never told me before jumping straight in.” She raised an eyebrow, and Ilia looked away, feeling a little embarrassed that she’d judged Weiss immediately, when the first five minutes were looking like she might have been wrong.

“It’s Ilia, Ilia Amitola.”

Weiss held her hand out, “Now that you’ve got your misconceptions about me out the way, why don’t we start again, and you actually get to know me before deciding you hate me?” Her eyes sparkled with mirth and Ilia chuckled.

“Fine, I’ll give you a chance.” Ilia leaned over and shook Weiss’ hand. “But I reserve the right to hate you if I get to know you and you deserve it.”

“Deal.” Weiss leaned back a little and took another sip of her drink, “So, Ilia, why did you decide to come to the cabin?”

“It’s actually sort of similar to you actually, only the other way round.” Weiss raised an eyebrow, and Ilia smirked before continuing, “But I actually asked permission before applying for her. Her only condition to agreeing was that I had to do it as well.”

Ilia went to take a drink but stopped with her arm partway to her mouth. Weiss looked at her and blinked in surprise as Ilia seemed to have frozen. “You’re Weiss Schnee.”

“Yes, I think we did establish that.”

“And you’re in a cabin. On a dating show. With me.”

“Yes? I thought we’d agreed not to judge until we actually learnt a bit more about each other…” Weiss narrowed her eyes slightly, but Ilia shook her head.

“No. I mean yes, we did, but that’s not what I mean.”

“Oh?”

“You’re a girl. I’m a girl. So that means...You’re gay?!” Ilia almost shouted it out, the connection having only arrived at her brain once she was partway through explaining how she ended up on a dating show.

Weiss smirked and lifted the wine glass to her lips in an attempt to hide it, “Did you only just realise that?”

Ilia blushed furiously again, “Look I was a bit distracted by...well...the fact that I’m on a blind date with Weiss Schnee!”

Weiss lifted her wine glass in a salute and smiled. She noticed that all of Ilia’s cases were still downstairs. “Have you been upstairs yet?” Ilia shook her head. “Shall we take our cases upstairs and have a look around then?”

Ilia nodded and followed Weiss as she headed upstairs. They went into the room that was designated to be theirs, the other bedrooms were all locked and out of use in an attempt to push them to either sleep in the same bed or have one sleep downstairs. 

Ilia pushed down on the bed and chuckled, “Blake is going to love this bed.”

“Does she like comfy beds then?”

Ilia hadn’t realised she’d said it out loud and blushed a little, “Ye-yeah, she does. Every time we stay somewhere, she always tests the bed out by jumping on it and then curling up to see how comfy it is.”

Weiss laughed, “My best friend does something similar, only she decides to do a front flip onto it to test the springs.”

Ilia looked at her with a clear look of disbelief, and Weiss laughed again, “Seriously, the girl’s an idiot at times, but an exceptional athlete. Can do a backflip standing, so front flips onto beds are almost the norm around her. I hope she gets someone hot.”

Ilia raised an eyebrow, “Are looks the main thing she goes for?”

Weiss shook her head and chuckled darkly, “No, she’s just absolutely awful at talking to pretty women. I believe the correct term is ‘Gay Panic.’”

Ilia laughed at that and shook her head, “Yeah, I know a guy who’s pretty similar. Anyone pretty ties his tongue into knots and makes him walk into things or trip over thin air.”

They both laughed and headed back downstairs to sit on the sofas again.

“What do you do for a living?” Weiss was leaning back against the sofa, having picked up the remnants of her wine glass from before.

“Well…” Ilia hesitated before continuing, What’s the worst that could happen? “I’m a researcher for the New Fang.” She waited for confusion that always accompanied people hearing New Fang instead of the previous group.

“That’s a really good job, they’re a brilliant organisation to be a part of.” Weiss nodded as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“What?” Ilia blinked in confusion, that was rarely the reaction she got anywhere except on Menagerie.

“Are you surprised I know about the New Fang?” Weiss smirked.

“I’ll be honest, yes. I thought you’d only know about the White Fang.”

Weiss chuckled darkly. “I know all about them too, they made my childhood very difficult.” Ilia scoffed and Weiss chuckled again, “Not compared to some, but that didn’t make it any easier at the time.”

“I used to be part of the White Fang too. Does that change your opinion of me?” Ilia crossed her arms and stared Weiss down.

“Provided you didn’t kill anyone, then not really no. The original White Fang was started by the same person who started the New Fang. So, I’m not overly surprised you were a part of the White Fang.”

Ilia continued to stare, “You’re very...accepting of this. Especially considering the main target has been your family.”

“As far as I’m aware, the New Fang are working with Schnee Corp to improve the mining operations on Menagerie, as well as reduce their presence and destruction of the natural environment.” 

“Have you actually seen the destruction Schnee Corp caused under the policies your father enacted? The amount of natural habitats destroyed and wildlife species endangered? So many species of animals unique to Menagerie have become endangered in the last twenty years because of his reckless actions.”

“I know.” Weiss looked away, but Ilia kept going.

“There’s at least two species of chameleon that are unique to the forests near the base of the mountains that are nearly extinct! The triple horned dwarf chameleon has only a few mating pairs left! And the amphibious tiger chameleon is now restricted to areas along the coast because the main habitat for it was polluted. And…”

“Ilia!” Weiss shouted and cut Ilia off mid-sentence. She sent a quick glare towards Weiss.

“My father was an absolute arsehole and an embarrassment of a human being. His policies were regressive, misogynistic, and anti-nature. I’m fully on your side here. Just because my last name is Schnee doesn’t mean I share his views or his ideas. Didn’t we agree not to judge too quickly?” Weiss’ words might have been slightly scolding, but there was no hint of it in the tone of her voice. 

Ilia looked away, realising that she’d got carried away and been doing what had happened before, judging Weiss on her last name rather than who she was as a person. “Sorry. I...I get defensive about my home.”

Weiss just smiled softly, “That’s not a bad thing at all. You’re clearly passionate about the things you care about, which so far seem to be Menagerie and the chameleons that live there.” There was a slight tease to Weiss’ words and Ilia stared at her before Weiss started giggling. “Sorry, but you have to admit, you got very defensive very quickly about the chameleons.” She held her hands up at Ilia’s stare, “I think it’s good that someone does! It’s a very noble thing to stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves, my friends taught me that.”

Ilia blushed slightly, “I just love chameleons okay? I think they’re really neat.” Weiss still had that smile on her face, and Ilia continued, “I’m the main reptile and amphibian researcher and lobbyist at the New Fang, but chameleons are the ones that are endangered the most. People don’t really care about them, they care about the larger animals, the cute ones, but reptiles are just as important for the ecosystem.”

“It’s the circle of life.”

“If you go all Disney princess on me here…”

Weiss laughed, “Not like the Lion King, but whilst we’re on the subject, Mufasa’s death? Heart-breaking. Worst Disney death of all time.”

Ilia shook her head, “Not sure it’s the worst one.”

Weiss gasped and put a hand to her chest, “But you can hear the anguish in Simba’s voice as he thinks that he caused his own father’s death!”

“Two words for you, Bambi’s. Mum.” Ilia flicked a finger up at each word.

Weiss raised a finger to argue in response, but at Ilia’s words she held it in the air for a second and then lowered it. “Fair.” She nodded in agreement and after a moment of silence the two started giggling.

“So, Disney is big for you?”

“Huge, my name in English is Snow White…”

Ilia’s mouth became a small ‘o’ as she heard what Weiss said, and Weiss laughed.

Ilia smiled back and took a drink and a thought popped into her head from what Weiss had said earlier, “If you’re not part of the Schnee Corporation anymore, what do you do for a living?”

“I’m a music teacher.”

“Seriously?” Ilia’s jaw dropped open and Weiss nodded.

“Yeah. I did business at university but that was only because my father refused to accept anything else as a way into the company, but I hated it most of the time. As soon as I was able to leave the company after my mother took control again, I did a teaching qualification and looked for jobs as a music teacher. I’ve always loved singing and playing instruments, so it seemed like a good way to do it.”

“That’s...surprising. But it makes sense, I’ll admit I have seen some of your performances on TheyTube.”

Weiss coughed and blushed, “I’m...I don’t like most of the ones that are on there. I was forced to do them to sweeten deals for my father, but just making whatever music I want and studying it? That’s where the real joy is for me.” Weiss’ face was split by a wide grin as she said the last bit, and Ilia got the feeling she truly loved her music.

“What age do you teach?”

“From thirteen to fifteen. I get them all to tell me what they want from music and what they want to do, then make a plan for each of them to work on so they can do it. Most of the time it works.”

“What do you mean by a plan?” Ilia leaned forwards, unable to deny her interest.

“Well, say that you want to be able to play...Beethoven’s 5th symphony. The dun dun dun daaaa one.” Weiss made the movements and necessary vocal sounds to get Ilia to recognise it, both of them smiling at the impression. “First of all, I’d start them on learning other songs that were slightly similar, but less complex so they could get experience with the right instrument. Then I’d get them to practice small parts of that first song, and then combine those smaller parts into larger parts, and then even larger parts. Once they could do that song, I repeat the process with the next song, and then the final song. That way they don’t feel discouraged at any point, because at each stage they’ve got realistic and achievable goals that slowly build up to the final overarching goal. Hopefully, by the time they’ve finished everything, they can play it and have also picked up a love for the instrument. If they pick something real simple, then I adjust and keep giving them larger goals once they achieve each stage.”

“How many students do you teach?”

“It’s between twenty and twenty-five per class.”

“And you do that...for each one?”

Weiss sighed and nodded. “Yes. The first week or so of the school year is spent figuring out a plan for every student. I’m not going to deny how exhausting it is, I think I get about two or three hours of sleep a night the first week or so, but it pays off by having less work to do as the year progresses, and I get to watch all of them improve beyond anything they thought they could do. It’s really rewarding.” 

“Wow. I’m honestly impressed.” Ilia sat back into the sofa, in a slight state of shock.

“The alternative is practicing the same songs for everyone for every class which would drive me insane and bore most of the students to death. Which would then make it impossible to do any teaching at all. So, it’s the lesser of two evils.” 

Weiss and Ilia both chuckled at that but were interrupted by a Ding! They both turned to look at Weiss’ phone on the table that had lit up with a message. 

Yang:  
BROTHERS ABOVE HELP ME SHES SO FUCKING HOT IM DEAD

Weiss smirked and spun the phone round for Ilia to see as well.

Ilia raised her eyebrows, “I guess that’s your best friend?”

Weiss chuckled and took her phone back, switching to silent before swiping up and rattling out a long password, “For my sins, yes.”

Weiss:  
How fucked are you?

The response from Yang was almost instant.

Yang:  
IM SO FUCKED. TOTALLY FUCKED.

Weiss:  
Good. Suffer.

She showed Ilia the short conversation and was rewarded with a quick giggle that was music to Weiss’ ears. “Wow. You’re really going to tell her to suffer and not help?”

“Absolutely. She got herself, and me, into this mess, so she can just suffer in gay panic.” Weiss smiled at Ilia.

Ilia giggled again before checking the time. “Didn’t they say we were supposed to message family or friends around now though? Maybe that’s why she messaged you?” 

“I suppose they did. I guess we should humour the producers then. Would you prefer the comfort of the sofa or the privacy of the bedroom?” Weiss indicated the sofa and then the stairs.

“Err the bedroom, if that’s alright?” Ilia looked to Weiss who nodded and then Ilia headed upstairs, her ponytail flicking behind her back as she quickly went up the stairs. Weiss smiled and sat down on the sofa, before checking her phone again.

Yang:  
I know I deserve it but please Weiss...HELP ME

Weiss smirked and left Yang on read, knowing it would infuriate the blonde, before flicking through her contacts. The only other one who knew she was going on The Cabins was Yang’s younger sister, Ruby, but she left her to Yang, seeing no need to bombard the poor girl. “Hmmm, Whitley might be interesting at least, and I know he’ll probably reply as he always has his phone in his waistcoat.”

Weiss:  
Hello brother, I feel I should inform you I’m currently part of a dating show where I spend 24 hours in a cabin alone with a blind date.

Whitley:  
I would say you have the incorrect number, but considering I have previous messages from yourself on this number I am forced to come to the conclusion you’re either telling the truth or are playing one of those pranks on me.

Weiss:  
Yes brother, I am telling the truth.

Whitley:  
I can only assume that this is either the fault of, or influence of, that blonde gym addict you call a best friend?

Weiss:  
It is definitely her fault.

Whitley:  
I always knew she would be a poor influence on you. Oh well, the trade-off for warming your ice-cold heart I suppose.

Weiss:  
Wow. And your heart isn’t a block of permafrost?

Whitley:  
Touché, however I’m not the one on a dating show. Anyway, moving on. I take it you have been paired with another woman then.

Weiss:  
I have yes, thank you for showing an interest. She seems quite lovely, rather pretty too.

Whitley:  
I’ll admit that is encouraging, you went on a dating show and found someone attractive.

Weiss:  
It’s a good start.

Whitley:  
Tell me then dear sister, will you be dining on clams or beaver this evening?

Weiss snorted, making a mental note to tell Yang later exactly what Whitley had said.

Weiss:  
I don’t think anyone in history has ever asked someone if they’re going to have sex by saying “Will you be dining on clams or beaver this evening?”

Whitley:  
I’m unsure if I should take that as a yes or not as you dodged the question.

Weiss:  
No, I will not. I may be on a dating show, but I have no intentions of having sex in a room that has video cameras and microphones in.

Whitley:  
Ah, so the potential dates are less like those from Romance Villa and more Initial Encounters?

Weiss:  
The fact that you could name both of those shows astounds me.

Weiss:  
And yes, far less sex orientated.

Whitley:  
I’m glad to hear it. I’ll let you get back to attempting to flirt with your date but do keep me informed of how it goes.

Weiss rolled her eyes fondly, she’d gotten a lot closer with her brother over the last few years, and whilst she knew most people would read the conversation and think he wasn’t that interested, she could read between the lines. 

She leaned back and stretched a little, keeping one eye on the stairs where she was waiting for Ilia to come back down. She hadn’t lied to her brother; she was attracted to her. The first meeting hadn’t been the worst she’d ever had, and Ilia had been willing to back down and give her a chance once the initial disagreements over her family’s company had been dealt with. She was a little fiery, she’d shown that in snipping at Weiss about the Schnee Corporation, even after they’d agreed, but also willing to back down and listen. Ilia had a good sense of humour as well, as they’d both laughed at several things together already.

Physically, she was definitely attractive in Weiss’ eyes. Slightly shorter than Weiss, although she’d have to take her heels off to check properly, brown hair pulled back into a ponytail that reached the small of her back, blue eyes that were possibly a similar shade to her own, plus freckles that dotted her cheeks and slightly onto the bridge of her nose, and a small smile that Weiss wanted to see more of. Her choice in fashion was good too, a black jumpsuit paired with short heeled boots. It suited her frame and body shape, not overly tight, but tight enough to emphasise the curves that were there. Weiss was definitely attracted to her, but wanted to know more about her. Which I guess is the whole point of the show.

Meanwhile, once she had got upstairs, Ilia had decided to do a quick video call, rather than message. The video call had, surprisingly for her, turned into a three-way video call the second it was answered.

“Ilia! My favourite freckled brunette! Welcome to Sun’s love corner.” A beaming blonde guy was leaning against a headboard that Ilia immediately knew wasn’t his, she’d spent too many nights sprawled on his bed watching movies as part of the little trio that consisted of her, Sun, and…

“Love corner? Aren’t you the only one here who’s never had a date?” The third person in the video call spoke up and Ilia’s eyes drifted to the other corner, spotting a dark-haired woman sporting what Ilia knew to be a freshly cut hairdo in what Sun had termed ‘The Bisexual Bob’.

“Ssshhhh that’s not the point Blake and you know it!” Sun waved his hand at the camera and Ilia and Blake both chuckled. “This is perfect anyway, now I can get the goss from both of you first-hand! Blake, yours is a blonde goddess with abs that rival mine, something I doubt. Now for Ilia, what’s your date like?”

Ilia gulped. “Well…”

Blake and Sun, somehow, not that Ilia understood how, gave each other a quick look, clearly confused as to why she was so nervous to say.

“...My date is Weiss Schnee.”

Ilia closed her eyes and waited for the reaction. When she did open them, Blake’s reaction was raised eyebrows and a surprised look, whilst Sun’s was the quilt of the bed, followed by a rush of colours until his face appeared again, having picked up the phone he had clearly dropped in shock. “The Weiss Schnee?” Sun whistled.

“Yeah, turns out once you get past the fact she’s a Schnee, she’s not too bad. I mean, I’ve only known her for about an hour, so she might kill puppies in her spare time, but…” Ilia shrugged, not looking at the screen, afraid of what her friends might say.

“Do you think she’s hotter in person?”

“Sun!” Blake hissed at their best friend who cackled in response as Ilia blushed, worried that Weiss would hear downstairs. Subtlety had never been Sun’s strong point, but he was useful if any of them ever got lost in a crowd as his loudmouth could be heard anywhere.

“What? It’s a dating show! Physical attraction is a key part of it. Something you admitted when describing tall, blonde, and booby!”

Ilia looked back at Blake, who at least had the decency to blush, even if it wasn’t massively visible on the small screen.

“Well? Answer the question?” Sun leaned forwards, a massive grin on his face.

“You’re insufferable.”

“And nosey. That’s old ground, now answer the question.” His grin was so wide it almost reached his ears, but Ilia wasn’t annoyed. Sun was by far the most gossipy of the trio and both her and Blake had got used to it by now. “Besides, Blake wants to know too!”

“Do you?” Ilia looked at Blake’s square of video and she shrugged.

“You know I think my date is gorgeous. She seems pretty funny and willing to laugh at herself. We’ll see if it goes any further.”

Ilia sighed, “I’m not going to get away from this am I?”

“Nope.”

“No.”

“Fine. She’s...I think she’s a little bit attractive.” Ilia saw the smile on Blake and Sun’s faces and knew she had been rumbled.

“So...if not for the fact she’s Weiss Schnee you’d be on your knees?” Sun flicked his eyebrows up and down as Blake just laughed.

“Sun!”

“What? We’re all adults here! There’s nothing wrong with wanting to kneel and worship at the pink palace.” Sun was grinning again, and Ilia and Blake groaned.

“Why did I call you?” Ilia closed her eyes and looked to the sky for help.

“Because I’m one of your two best friends and you love me.” Sun was still grinning, and Blake was smirking along with him.

“I hate you both.” Ilia hung up but not before making sure the other two saw her smile. 

She sat down on the bed and turned her phone over in her hand thinking. From what she’d learnt of Weiss Schnee the person, it did match a little with what she’d learnt and knew from other sources, even though she’d always dismissed those as positive spin. Actually, speaking with her though showed she was clearly a lot more varied and deep than the shallow rich person Ilia had believed her to be. She genuinely cared about her friends and had a friendship similar to Ilia and Blake’s with Sun, that much had been obvious even from the short time they’d spent together. The brief discussion they’d had about university had shown similar experiences, and Weiss seemed more rounded and human than she’d expected.

Ilia couldn’t deny her physical attraction to Weiss either, no matter how much she might want to. Her skin was quite pale but looked slightly more tanned up close and personal. Her eyes were a very light blue, almost an icy blue, and the fact that she refused to cover her defining scar was interesting. Ilia shook her head. She was not going to spend a second night in a cabin with Weiss Schnee. 

She absolutely would not.

What she would do, is go downstairs and spend the rest of the evening in a beautiful log cabin.

Her phone buzzed and she looked down.

Sun:  
I’ll take that as a yes you absolutely would have sex with her.

Ilia laughed and put her phone away in one of the pockets on her jumpsuit before heading back downstairs, refusing to dignify the text with a response. She was about to head downstairs when she remembered that Sun had been in somebody else’s bed. If he’s gone on a date without telling me and Blake...she shook her head, that was a question for another day that would require a grilling in person.

Ilia found Weiss resting on the sofa, her feet curled up below her, her high heeled boots having been taken off. She looked up at Ilia as she came down the stairs and smiled at her. “Welcome back.”

Ilia smiled back and sat down opposite her on the other sofa, unzipping her own heels and dropping them on the floor before copying Weiss’ position. Weiss smiled at her and giggled slightly, causing Ilia to remember that the socks she’d decided to wear had little cartoon chameleons on.

“I can see just how much you love those chameleons.” Weiss wasn’t even trying to hide her smile and laughter and Ilia blushed furiously, quickly getting to her feet and heading to the kitchen.

She was just moving pots around when she felt a soft touch on her shoulder, “I’m sorry. I was just teasing you a little. When I said that you defending those that can’t defend themselves is both good and noble, I was being truthful. It was just the fact that you’re on a dating show, in a gorgeous jumpsuit and heels that match, looking fabulous, and then you have black socks with green cartoon chameleons on. I think it’s adorable and very cute.”

Ilia looked round to see Weiss smiling softly at her, “And besides, if it makes you feel any better,” Weiss continued, “I have a very large plushie of a husky that never leaves my bedroom, as well as at least three pairs of socks that are husky or corgi related in some way, including a pair that have corgi faces at the toes.”

“Seriously?” The disbelief was clear in Ilia’s voice.

“Seriously, look.” Weiss opened Picstagram and switched profiles to one that was far less followed, and scrolled through until she found a picture. “See?”

Ilia burst out laughing at the sight of Weiss’ feet in a pair of white and beige socks with corgi faces at the end, a pink tongue lolling out the open mouth. This was followed by a second picture of her hugging what looked like a life size plushie of a husky, her face hidden as she had buried it in the fur.

“Okay, I forgive you.” Ilia was still chuckling, finding it hard to believe that Weiss Schnee had those socks.

“Thank you.” Weiss was silent for a moment before asking, “Were you thinking about having dinner around now?”

Ilia nodded, “Yeah, did you want to do anything in particular?”

“Erm...I’m happy to chop vegetables. But I wouldn’t be comfortable with any other responsibility…”

Ilia turned back around to look at Weiss who had deliberately faced away and was bringing out a chopping board and searching through drawers. “Why not?”

“Well...I’m not especially good at cooking. It’s a...weakness of mine.” The last few words were forced out, as if she had trouble admitting them.

“I doubt you’re that bad, and anyway, you can learn, can’t you?” Ilia chuckled.

“I don’t think I should...I…” Weiss turned around to search the drawers by the sink and Ilia for a knife having not found one yet. She still refused to meet Ilia’s eyes or even look at her.

Ilia opened the drawer behind her having seen the cutlery and sharp knives in there earlier and held one out handle first, “Weiss?”

Weiss looked at Ilia who nearly gasped at how red Weiss’ face was. She snatched the knife quickly and put it by the chopping board. “I’m happy to help, but I shouldn’t take the lead, or be left in charge of anything that might burn or catch fire.”

“Why?” Ilia dragged the word out, curiosity getting the better of her. This wasn’t the embarrassment of someone not knowing what to do, this was embarrassment from having tried and spectacularly getting it wrong.

“I may have almost set my first apartment on fire when I tried to cook pasta.”

“You nearly did what?” Ilia’s jaw dropped.

“And then nearly set Yang’s apartment on fire. Then her sister Ruby’s. And then I exploded a microwave because I thought you could put foil in it. After that I was banned from doing anything in the kitchen involving heat.”

Ilia was silent for a few moments, digesting everything that she’d just heard before doubling over with laughter. “You...you set pasta on fire? How?! It’s covered in water!”

“I thought putting oil in would cook it faster! And I forgot to put water in!” Weiss had turned around to face Ilia and was bright red, the blush covering her entire face and her arms crossed, a pout on her face. Ilia meanwhile was laughing so hard she nearly stopped breathing. 

When she finally stopped, she straightened up and wiped tears from the corner of her eyes, Weiss standing there still pouting and glaring at Ilia. “I’m sorry, but of all the reasons to be banned from cooking…” Ilia giggled again, and despite Weiss’ clear annoyance, her face did crack into a small smile.

“I am a bit of an idiot with cooking.”

Ilia smiled at her, struggling internally about how cute she’d found Weiss in that moment, and still did. “In that case, I think I’ll handle any cooking, but you can help by chopping the vegetables.”

Weiss nodded, the soft, small smile still on her face, one that Ilia felt drawn to look at. “I’m okay with that.”

The next half hour was spent with Ilia directing Weiss on what vegetables to cut whilst she arranged a quick chicken stir fry with rice. They sat down at the table to eat together, and after the first mouthful Weiss said, “This is the best stir fry I’ve ever had.” Ilia blushed but thanked her. 

Once they’d finished dinner, Weiss offered to wash up, and Ilia agreed on the provision that she dried. Once the cleaning up had been finished, the two sat down with fresh glasses of water and a steel bucket of questions in front of them.

“Shall we make an agreement?” Weiss took a small sip from her water and looked at Ilia over the top of it.

“What sort of agreement?” 

“That no matter the question that comes out, we answer it, and we answer it honestly. Even if it goes into our past or personal history, there’s no point playing if we’re not going to be honest.”

“Are you sure? What if the question is something you don’t want me to hear the answer to?” Ilia raised an eyebrow as she met Weiss’ stare.

The other woman just shrugged, “Then I’ll still say it. Truth and trust are a key part of any relationship, and besides, I don’t think there’s much to hide.”

“Fair enough then,” Ilia reached into the bucket and pulled out the first folded card. She coughed as she silently read it, not expecting the question that was printed there.

“What’s wrong?” Weiss’ voice had a touch of concern to it, but Ilia waved her off.

“Nothing. No. Just not reading that one out to start it.” Ilia hastily went to put it back, but Weiss caught her wrist gently to stop her. Ilia tried not to focus on how smooth the fingers were, as well as the warmth that spread from them, she’d been expecting cold or at least cool hands, but they were surprisingly warm.

“Oh no, we agreed to not back down from any question, so you’re asking me it.” Weiss was smiling and let go of Ilia’s wrist and moved back to her side of the table.

Ilia shook her head, “You really don’t want me to ask you, we’re not anywhere near that level of friendship.”

“We agreed to answer all the questions. I don’t back down from challenges like this, ask me.”

“Ok, you did ask.” Ilia breathed in and then looked Weiss right in the eyes, “Are you a pillow princess?”

Weiss blushed a violent shade of red in embarrassment. “Actually no, you’re right, we’re skipping that one.”

“But we agreed to answer any question that came out, and I thought you didn’t back down from challenges?” Ilia was chuckling at Weiss’ response to the question. All embarrassment she’d felt at asking it had fled the moment Weiss tried to back down.

Weiss put her head in her hands, “Why did I say that?” Ilia’s only response was to chuckle again, as Weiss shifted awkwardly in her seat, refusing to meet her eyes. “I need another drink if the questions are going to be like that, I can’t answer that completely sober.” Weiss stood up and quickly walked over to the kitchen counter, her finger running over the various bottles before deciding on the bottle of wine Ilia had brought.

She returned to the table, poured a full glass, drained it in a single go, then poured a second. Ilia’s eyebrows raised halfway up her forehead at seeing Weiss drink a full glass of wine that quickly. “Don’t worry, I’m not an alcoholic, but I’ve just met you and I really need to be tipsy at a minimum to answer questions about my sex life.” She sighed and breathed out. “No. I’m not a pillow princess, not at all.” Weiss was still refusing to meet Ilia’s eyes, and when she pulled the next question out of the bucket Ilia was very glad of it. “What is your favourite sex position?” Right until she heard the question.

Ilia felt her face flush again and she covered her face with her hands for a moment. “No. Hard pass.”

“Not happening, if I had to answer if I was a pillow princess or not then you’re answering that one.” Ilia peeked through her fingers and could see the smirk on Weiss’ face. Fine. You think you can get the better of me like that?

“Queening.”

Weiss raised an eyebrow, “And that is…?”

Ilia smirked, “Not the question.”

“Nooo, you don’t get to just avoid the question like that.” Weiss wagged a finger at Ilia who laughed.

“The question was what’s my favourite position, it doesn’t say I have to explain it to you.”

Weiss narrowed her eyes, “Fine. You get away with it this time.”

Ilia reached into the bucket and pulled out another question, thankfully tamer this time. “What is your favourite memory?”

Weiss’ smile and voice were both full of warmth as she leaned back in her chair a little. “Graduating from university. Not because I was valedictorian or anything like that, but because I had my two closest friends with me, and we were all so happy to have made it through alive. Four years of stress and panic and therapy, and at the end of it we were all crying and laughing. The last four years just...it was a release.”

Ilia felt herself smile alongside Weiss as she spoke. “Was university that hard for you?”

Weiss grimaced, “At the time, yes. I...I was still the heiress, and my father expected absolute perfection, and I thought if I managed to be completely perfect then I would be able to stay as heiress. If I could stay as heiress then I could pretend to be the good little daughter my father wanted me to be, and then when he retired start rebuilding the company to what my grandfather started it as, not the version my father had twisted it into. Turns out being perfect wasn’t good enough.” Weiss’ voice took on a slightly bitter note towards the end, and Ilia got the impression that Weiss had, if not hatred for her father, then at least a large dose of resentment.

“You shouldn’t have to be perfect; people should accept you for who you are, not who you’re expected to be.” It was something she’d had said to her by Sun many times, and it seemed like the right thing to say. Weiss raised an eyebrow and looked at Ilia pointedly, who groaned, realising what she’d said. “Ugh. I gave you a chance!”

“After you’d judged me immediately and treated me as if I was exactly how you expected me to be. Then did it again.” Weiss was smirking a little now, and Ilia raised a single middle finger in response, causing Weiss to laugh at the sight. “Fine, I’ll let you off because you can cook well.” She rummaged in the bucket then pulled out another question, unfolding the paper and laughing immediately. “Here’s an easy one for you; Have you ever tried out for a reality show?”

Ilia laughed as well, “No, never in my life. I’ve no idea how I ended up here.” She held her hand out for the bucket and Weiss passed it over. Ilia read the next question and blushed again but didn’t hesitate to ask the question this time, “Do you own anal beads?”

Weiss’ eyes widened and she looked down into her glass, “Not anal beads, no.” She quickly moved to grab the bucket back, but Ilia moved it backwards out of reach.

“No, that’s not fair, you clearly own something similar. Just because it’s not exactly anal beads…”

“You refused to elaborate on Queening, I refuse to elaborate on the question regarding anal sex toys.”

“I hate you.” The words slipped out before Ilia could stop them, but Weiss only chuckled in response and held her hand out for the bucket, which Ilia slid back across the table to her. Ilia was surprised by her words, it was normally how she treated Blake or Sun, her two closest friends. There’s no way she was striking up a close friendship with Weiss Schnee already? She poured another drink of wine into her glass, filling it halfway.

Weiss looked at the next question and laughed, bringing Ilia back to the present, “Would you ever take life advice from a psychic?”

“Never. Psychics are just frauds.”

“Good answer.” Weiss smiled that smile at Ilia again, the one that was quite small, but seemed intimate, her ice blue eyes sparkling whilst she did it. Ilia felt her cheeks and freckles light up again even as she returned a smile.

Ilia looked away, not wanting to spend too much time staring at Weiss. I will not like Weiss Schnee. Nope. I will not. No matter how much she does that cute smile at me. She reached into the bucket and pulled out the next question, “Do you have a hidden body piercing or tattoo?”

Weiss chuckled, “Yes, two. But I don’t show them to anyone.”

“Not to anyone?”

“Well…” Weiss smirked, “Maybe to a few people, but you’re not there yet.”

“Oh. Okay then?” Ilia was quite confused by the response.

Weiss just chuckled, “Maybe I’ll tell you later, but now...” She looked at the question in her hand and then at Ilia, “...do you masturbate more than you have sex?” She folded the question back up and placed it in the growing pile of papers.

Ilia felt her blush spread across her entire face. “As I’m not in a relationship, yes.”

“Thinking about it, that answer isn't actually that surprising. I’d say anyone not in a relationship would probably masturbate more than they have sex...How about in a relationship then? Make it more interesting.” Weiss leaned forward and smirked at her, “I’ll answer it as well.”

Ilia looked away, refusing to meet Weiss’ eyes for a moment before looking back at her, her curiosity pushing her to answer it, if only to find out Weiss’ answer. “If the sex is good, then no. If it’s not, then yes, I do.”

Weiss nodded, “I’m the same, but I think I still masturbate quite regularly even then. I just enjoy having orgasms.” She somehow said it with a straight face and caused Ilia to nearly choke on her drink, not having expected Weiss to readily admit to enjoying orgasms as they were still relative strangers.

“That’s...ahem...bold of you to admit.”

Weiss shrugged, “Everyone enjoys them, or at least they should, are you trying to say you don’t?”

“Well...Yes. Of course I do...but...yeah. Alright.” Ilia hung her head a little, but Weiss just chuckled.

“I used to be very uptight, refused to give anything away, expected perfection from myself and everyone around me, all in an attempt to meet unrealistic demands both set by others and by myself.” Weiss was swilling the remnants of her wine around her glass, staring into it deeply. “But my friends helped me feel a lot more relaxed and comfortable with myself and who I am. As my best friend said ‘You’re gay as fuck. Embrace it, enjoy it, and enjoy life.’” Weiss chuckled, “So I do.”

“Sounds like you owe her a lot.” Ilia was watching Weiss carefully.

“I do, I really do. She’s helped me more than she will ever know, and far more than I would ever admit.” Weiss stared at the clear liquid as it flowed around the bottom of the glass before swooping it up and draining it. “I’m going to get some more water and then we’ll keep going?” Ilia nodded, “Do you want a glass too?”

“Please.”

Ilia looked at the table as Weiss walked away. She knew the feeling of owing someone more than they would ever know, Blake and her parents had saved her more than once from the darkness of early childhood, and her teens. She’d never be able to repay them, no matter how long she lived.

“Here.” Weiss stood next to Ilia’s shoulder and held the glass out, her fingers gently brushing Ilia’s shoulder, who felt it even through her jumpsuit.

“Thank you.” She smiled at Weiss and took a drink from it, watching as Weiss walked back round to her side of the table. Ilia continued to smile at Weiss and reached into the bucket to pull out the next question. Huh. This’ll be interesting. “Would you rather be rich or happy?”

Weiss scoffed and answered immediately, “Happy. I’ve been rich, it’s got good points, and I respect that some people would choose rich as they’ve had money worries or issues, but I’d always choose to be happy over rich.”

“Really?” Ilia was a little surprised by the answer, thinking that maybe Weiss was used to the rich person lifestyle.

“Yes. Pretty much all my memories whilst being rich suck.” Weiss leaned over to the bucket, not wanting to discuss it any further. “This could be interesting, have you ever had a threesome?” Ilia suddenly looked very awkward and uncomfortable, visibly shifting in her seat, and Weiss didn’t fail to notice. It wasn’t like the embarrassment of asking about the other sex related questions, where she’d blushed and looked away. This was a clearly uncomfortable situation, a painful memory. “You don’t have to answer that, I’ll get a different one.”

“No, it’s ok. We agreed.” She breathed deeply. “I haven’t had one, but I was offered one. I turned it down because whilst at the time I did have a crush on the girl, the guy who would have been part of it...well, he wasn’t good for her. I think he wanted to do it just for himself and to make his ego even bigger.” Ilia’s voice was quiet as she talked, Weiss holding her breath, “He was trying to manipulate me into doing something that he wanted, because he liked the power it would have given him. I think if I had agreed, nothing would have happened between me and her, and it would have been him and us. Not because he liked me, in fact I’m certain he hated me. But he wanted to use it as a tool to abuse her, and I didn’t want any part of that. She didn’t deserve it. I couldn’t do it to her. I just couldn’t hurt her like that. No matter how much I might have wanted to be with her, I couldn’t be complicit in the abuse.”

Weiss reached over and took Ilia’s hands in hers, gently rubbing the back of her hands with her thumbs. They sat like that for a little while, not speaking, Weiss rubbing circles into the back of Ilia’s hands in a slow, soothing motion until Ilia breathed out heavily and straightened up a little.

“Thank you.”

“It’s alright. Do you want to stop? It is starting to get a bit late.” Weiss looked at her phone to check the time.

“No, it’s fine, we can do a few more.” Ilia smiled, although there was still a tinge of sadness to it. “I don’t want to end the night on that.”

Weiss returned the smile with a bit more happiness, “Okay then. Let’s see...have you ever had magic mushrooms?”

“No, never.”

“Don’t. They’re not fun.” Weiss shuddered slightly and Ilia looked confused. “I’ll explain, when I was at uni I went round one of our friends flats and they’d made a lasagne. Only they’d replaced the mushrooms in it with magic mushrooms by mistake.” Ilia gasped out loud in shock. “Yeah. Exactly. And now I refuse to eat anything mushrooms in.”

“Literally anything?”

“Anything. I hate mushrooms now. It was a real bad trip.” Weiss closed her eyes and her whole body shuddered as she remembered that evening. They’d all lost sense of time and had some bad hallucinations. It had put her off any form of hallucinogenic drug for life, no matter what anyone told her.

“That’s fair. I just hate them because they taste like crap.” Ilia shrugged but felt that same flash of happiness she’d had all night when Weiss burst out laughing at her deadpan response. Ilia tried to fight, and failed, to keep her face from smiling at Weiss’ laughter and reached to get the next question.

Weiss chuckled when she saw the blush spread back across Ilia’s freckles, “Another sex one?”

Ilia nodded, “Do you shave your genital area?”

Weiss smirked and looked at Ilia straight in the eye, “I wax.” Ilia’s blush went even darker.

Weiss kept eye contact as she reached into the bucket, hoping for another sex related question to see how far she could get the blush to go. Unfortunately, it wasn’t what she was after. “What’s your favourite hobby?”

Whilst Ilia didn’t blush from the question, Weiss was instead rewarded with Ilia’s entire face lighting up. “Fencing! I absolutely love fencing.”

Weiss’ smile grew into a grin as she looked at Ilia’s face shining with happiness, “Really? What a coincidence, I do as well.”

Ilia’s jaw dropped, “Seriously?”

Weiss chuckled, “Oh yes, I love it. I was the captain of the Beacon university fencing team for three years.”

“The producers said they could get us extra things if we requested them didn’t they? Could we request fencing gear? I’d love to see just how good you are, Beacon Captain versus the Menagerie Fencing Club Captain. Hell, we could probably find something to use as foils now if we look hard enough.” Ilia crossed her arms and smirked at Weiss who grinned right back.

“Definitely, but not tonight, we’ve both had some drinks and I don’t want to accidentally give you a scar to match mine.”

“Bit cocky, aren’t you? Thinking that you’d actually be able to beat me.” Ilia leaned forwards to stare at Weiss, the smirk still on her face.

“Oh honey, you have no idea.” Weiss winked and the blush returned to Ilia’s face, which was now only a few inches away from Weiss, whereas before it had been the whole width of the table. Seeming to realise this, Ilia pulled back and straightened up, stretching a little, not looking Weiss in the eye.

Searching quickly for something to say she focused on the sleeping situation. “What do you want to do about sleeping? There’s supposed to be another bed down here.” Ilia looked around, not seeing where it was supposed to be.

“There’s plenty of room in the king bed upstairs, I’ll stay on my side, you stay on yours, we’re both quite small, so I think we should be able to fit.” Weiss shrugged.

Ilia looked at her and decided that Weiss was right, there wasn’t anything wrong with sharing a bed together. There was plenty of room, so no issues there. I don’t want either of us to feel forced to sleep on the single bed downstairs…“Yeah, that’s fine.”

They cleared the game away, putting the papers back into the bucket, although Weiss stopped and stared at one of the questions that was visible in the bucket for a moment before continuing. Ilia picked the glasses up and placed them carefully in the sink, neither of them willing to wash up that evening. Weiss waited for her to finish before they both headed upstairs, grabbing toothbrushes and getting ready for bed separately.

Weiss was in bed first and couldn’t help watching Ilia as she came back in from the bathroom, sleeveless tank top and shorts in a matching black with gold accents that Weiss appreciated from a distance, even as she was on her phone messaging Yang.

Weiss:  
I’ll give you a small respite from your suffering. I’ll reply to your first three messages, use them wisely.

Yang:  
Thank you oh glorious genie.

Weiss:  
That counts as one.

Yang:  
Fuck.

Weiss:  
That’s two.

Yang:  
Shiiiiiiit. Fine. What do you want for breakfast tomorrow? You can guess what I’d like from my last messages saying how fucked I am.

Weiss leaned around the side of her phone ever so slightly to watch Ilia in the mirror. The brunette was brushing her hair slowly, having taken it out of the ponytail she’d worn it in all night. The question-and-answer game had been good fun, even if she’d revealed more than she would have preferred, but seeing how much Ilia blushed had been immense fun. The way her freckles were highlighted by the blush and the way she acted had been incredibly cute and endearing to Weiss. The other woman wasn’t free of baggage, there were clearly some issues and problems buried there, but Weiss knew that she herself had plenty of issues as well. There was one question Weiss wanted to ask her though.

Weiss:  
Not completely sure yet, I think I know, but I want to think about it a bit more. I’ll give you my actual answer in a short while.

Ilia turned around as Weiss put her phone down on the bedside table, before she walked over and slipped beneath the covers, smiling and burrowing slightly into the sheets. Her eyes were closed as she breathed in the soft and slightly flowery smell of the sheets that felt like heaven. Weiss watched her as she did, a small smile on her face that Ilia recognised as she opened her eyes again.

Without warning, the lights in the bedroom went out, something the producers had explained would happen at a certain point in the evening, and then turn on automatically in the morning.

The two women were facing each other, and whilst it was very dark, they could still make some details out, Ilia watched as Weiss licked her lips gently before talking quietly. “Is it alright to ask another question?”

Ilia nodded, then realised Weiss might not be able to see her, “Yeah.”

“It’s another one from the questions earlier. Could you have a long-term relationship with someone who doesn’t share your political views?”

Ilia was silent for a while, running it through her head. It was fairly obvious why Weiss was asking, even Ilia wasn’t that oblivious. Weiss might not be wanting to get into a relationship there and then, but she at least wanted to see if it wasn’t out of the question. They were on a dating show. Together. They were meant to see if there was a chance of a relationship between them, and she had been quite forward and obvious in her dislike of Weiss and her family when she first met her. But since then? Since then, Weiss had been funny, willing to help even if it was just chopping vegetables up, she was happy to admit her faults and mistakes, she seemed caring and quite kind too.

“I...would say it depends on how extreme the views are, but it would probably work because otherwise I wouldn’t have been friends with them or got together with them to begin with. Provided they respected my views, and didn’t insult them or me, or treat me badly because of them, then it would be okay. Discussion is healthy in a relationship, and I’d like someone who could accept me even if we don’t agree on everything.”

Weiss was quiet as she listened and stayed so for a few moments after before replying. “I think that’s a good and very mature view to have.”

“Mature?”

“Mmhmm. I’ve had some people want to be in a relationship with me just because of who I am, and they pretended to be someone they’re not and hold views they didn’t because they thought it was what I wanted. It’s not, I want someone who is honest about their views and who they are. Provided they’re not attacking me, and it doesn’t cause too much friction in the relationship, I’d be happy to have a relationship with someone with different views.”

Weiss looked pointedly at Ilia as she finished talking, but Ilia didn’t meet her eyes. Maybe because she can’t see me that well in the dark. When Ilia didn’t reply, Weiss rolled over and pulled her phone up to message Yang.

Weiss:  
Pancakes. I want pancakes with golden syrup and honey.

She locked her phone again, placing it face down so it wouldn’t light up and turned back to face Ilia, who was still watching Weiss. Weiss stared at Ilia for a few moments before whispering “Goodnight Ilia.”

The last thing she heard before she drifted off to sleep was a whispered “Goodnight Weiss.”

\---------------

Ilia slowly woke up, eyes blinking, and found the main lights already on and the rest of the bed empty. She slipped out of the bed to nip to the toilet and came back to see that Weiss’ suitcase had been shifted from the night before. Ilia padded to the top of the stairs and went down halfway until she could look into the main downstairs area. 

Weiss was standing on one leg, balancing in what Ilia recognised as a pose from yoga. Weiss was facing away from the stairs in an ice blue sports bra and matching high waisted yoga leggings, her hair tied up into a bun. Ilia kept watching as she shifted position, bending over to hold the tips of her bare feet. Ilia felt her eyes wander from where Weiss’ hands were, up the back of her calves and thighs, all carefully toned, her eyes roaming up to Weiss’ ass. She stared for a few moments, tracing the curves and looking at it before Weiss straightened up and stretched her arms out wide, her back muscles clearly visible.

Ilia licked her lips then realised what she’d done and stealthily crept back upstairs before Weiss could turn around and realise she’d been watching.

Sitting cross legged on the bed Ilia breathed out slowly and ran through the last 24 hours in her head. It had started badly, but now she’d got to know Weiss Schnee she had to admit to herself that it had been a really enjoyable time. The dress from last night had been really nice, and she clearly either had some sense of her own style, or had spent way too long with a stylist before she came here. From what she’d learnt of Weiss so far it was the former. Her feelings about her personality had remained the same since the previous night, and the discussion about a relationship with different views had only enhanced it.

Psychically? Well, she had been beautiful the night before, Ilia couldn’t deny it. This morning though? The toned muscles, visible in her skin-tight clothing, her legs, which seemed long despite her short stature, and her ass was round, perky, and lovely to look at.

Oh shit.

That was not expected. 

Ilia quickly grabbed her phone and sent a message to Blake.

Ilia:  
Shit. Just shit.

Before Ilia could reply her phone buzzed and she answered it.

“You’re kidding.” Blake’s voice came through quickly and full of disbelief.

Ilia groaned, “No.”

“I need to hear you say it. I won’t believe it until I hear you say it.”

“Do I have to?” As silence was the only response she got, Ilia looked around quickly before whispering “Fine. I’ve got a crush on her.”

“Sorry, what was that? You’ll have to speak up, I can’t hear you.” Ilia could hear the smirk in Blake’s voice.

“No. You’re not doing this to me again, I fell for it ONCE in ninth grade and never again.” Ilia shook her head. The first and only time she’d fallen for it the girl in question had walked up behind her right as she’d said it. Admittedly they’d then gone on to date for nearly eighteen months, but Ilia had never really forgiven Blake and Sun for tricking her into saying it when she wasn’t ready. The fact that otherwise she’d probably never have done anything (which was what the other two used as an argument for why they’d done it) made no difference.

“I’m still not sure I believe you. After everything you’ve said against the family and business, you, Ilia Sapphire Amitola, fall for the scion of the Schnee family.”

“Stop being so dramatic you nerd, I don’t even know what’s happening.”

“May I remind you that there’s a very luxurious hot tub outside?” Blake reminded her so Ilia slipped to her feet and looked out the window of the bedroom at the hot tub. “And when are you ever going to get a chance to go in a hot tub as good as that one is.”

Desperate for a chance to switch it around, Ilia grasped onto it. Rather that than continue talking about her feelings and have Weiss walk in. “That sounds like you’ve been in yourself. Damn you must really like the look of her.”

“I hate you.” Blake’s deadpan response told Ilia all she needed to know.

“Was it everything you thought it would be?” She knew her smirk and teasing tone would convey through the phone and Blake’s reply said it had done.

“I really hate you. I should have called Sun and just texted you.”

Ilia laughed, “No you shouldn’t. He’d be far worse than me, he’d be telling you leave this morning with her to take her back to a hotel! I don’t know how a guy who’s never had a date in his life is so convinced that it’s a thing people do.”

“It’s because he’s never been on a date that he thinks it’s a thing.”

The two laughed before Blake said she had to go, apparently her date had cooked pancakes for breakfast.

Ilia lay back in the bed, rolling her phone around in her hand before she heard Weiss climbing up the stairs.

“Oh! Good morning.” Weiss was in the doorway, cheeks a little red with a few beads of sweat dripping down her forehead, her pale skin flushed from the exercise. A towel was around her neck, the end reaching the top of her sports bra that Ilia deliberately ignored, focusing instead on Weiss’ face, forcing herself to look Weiss in the eyes. “I’m sorry if I woke you, I was doing yoga.”

Ilia shook her head, “It’s fine, you didn’t wake me.”

Weiss smiled, “Good. I’m just gonna grab a shower, but I made fresh coffee downstairs in the pot if you want a cup.”

“I thought you were banned from doing anything in a kitchen that involved heat?” Ilia smirked, remembering the conversation the night before.

Weiss raised a single middle finger in response and chuckled, “Don’t even try to take my coffee away from me.”

Ilia chuckled as well, then remembered what Blake’s date had done for breakfast, “I was thinking of cooking pancakes for breakfast, is that okay with you?”

Weiss smirked and laughed, “Absolutely fine with me.” Ilia gave her a weird look, clearly confused by the laughter at being offered pancakes, “It’s a joke my friend made about having pancakes for breakfast, don’t worry. I’d love to have pancakes.” She smiled and then headed through to the bathroom and turned the shower on.

Shaking her head, Ilia padded downstairs again, finding almost no trace that Weiss had done yoga that morning, the only evidence was a tightly rolled yoga mat leaning against the cupboard. Next to the fresh pot of coffee was a clean mug, spoon, and the sugar pot. Ilia smiled softly, appreciating the fact that Weiss had set everything up for her.

Pouring herself a cup she added a quick bit of milk from the fridge and a single spoon of sugar, stirring it whilst she scrolled on her phone to find her pancake recipe. The next twenty minutes were spent finding the utensils and ingredients before mixing. Right as it was ready to be put in the pan, she heard the soft footfalls of Weiss, and she turned around to greet her. 

Weiss had come down with her hair wrapped up in a towel as she continued to dry it with her hands, skin-tight denim jeggings on, and a loose top on. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself.” Weiss smiled at Ilia and stood next to her.

“Do you prefer European or American style pancakes?”

“European with American thickness.” Ilia raised an eyebrow and looked at her and Weiss just laughed, “I know, I know, but it’s the best taste for me.”

“You have to be awkward, don’t you?” Ilia shook her head but there was a smile on her face. “Two?”

“That would be perfect thank you, what toppings do you want? I’ll put them on the table ready.”

“Whatever berries or soft fruit we have and syrup please.” Weiss nodded and started gathering the toppings, placing them on the table along with cutlery and glasses of water for both of them.

Ilia cooked the first two pancakes and slid them onto a plate she’d warmed in the microwave, before cooking another two and placing them on her own plate. She put the plate in front of Weiss before sitting opposite her and they ate breakfast relatively quietly, each enjoying the silence and food in front of them.

Weiss smiled and thanked Ilia for the food, “It was delicious, thank you.” Ilia blushed slightly and went to reply but a knock at the door interrupted her. Rising to her feet she headed for the door at the side and found a sealed envelope on the doormat. Ilia brought it back in, opened it and gave it a quick once over before passing to Weiss.

“Good morning Beavers. We hope you’ve enjoyed your stay in Beaver’s Burrow so far. Check out time is at 11:15am, however should you choose to stay, the cabin is available for another night. Please provide your answer collectively in the next five minutes.” Weiss finished reading it aloud for the cameras then folded the letter back up and looked at Ilia, “Well, I guess this is where we decide whether we should leave now, or stay and see where our time together goes.” 

Ilia shifted on the balls of her feet uncomfortably, she’d said yesterday that she definitely wouldn’t want to stay another night and spend more time with Weiss Schnee...but now? “Yeah, I guess it is.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for anyone who reads this, anyone who comments, gives kudos, or bookmarks, it's honestly really appreciated!


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